Sanjay Jaju takes charge as Secretary, Ministry of I&B

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Feb 5: Sanjay Jaju has today assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

He is a 1992-batch IAS officer from Telangana cadre. Upon his assumption of charge, he was welcomed by outgoing Secretary, Apurva Chandra and other officials of the Ministry and various media units. Apurva Chandra has been assigned the charge of Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Jaju has earlier served as Additional Secretary to Government of India from 2018 to 2023 and Director, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited from October 2014 to March 2018.

He has served as Secretary to Govt of Andhra Pradesh (Electronics, IT and Communications Department) from May 2011 to October 2014.

Ronnie backs use of paperless proceedings in Legislative Assembly

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Feb 5: Leader of Opposition Ronnie V Lyngdoh today said that he is on board with the use of the National eVidhan Application (NeVA) to make the proceedings of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly seamless and paperless.

The Opposition Leader received training today on using the application by officials from the IT Cell of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Secretariat at the Conference Hall of the Administrative Block of the Meghalaya Assembly in Khyndailad, Police Bazar.

Lyngdoh expressed his appreciation to the Meghalaya Assembly Speaker, Thomas A Sangma, and officials of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Secretariat for initiating the implementation of the National eVidhan Application. He emphasized that this initiative can play a meaningful role in environment conservation.

He also pointed out the efficiency of the Application as it can be used to submit questions and notices anywhere on the go.

It may be mentioned that the application hosts a secure page for each Member of the House for submitting questions and other notices.

NeVA, deployed on the NIC Cloud MeghRaj, is a workflow system designed to facilitate the smooth conduct of House proceedings by the Chair, and conduct Legislative Business in a paperless manner and assist Hon’ble Members of the Legislative Assembly to carry out their duties in the House.

NeVA is a device-neutral and member-centric application created to equip them to handle diverse House Businesses smartly by putting entire information regarding member contact details, rules of procedure, list of business, notices, bulletins, bills, starred/unstarred questions and answers, papers laid, committee reports etc. in their handheld devices/ tablets and equip all Legislatures/ Departments to handle it efficiently. NeVA will completely eliminate the process of sending out a notice/request for the collection of data.

Umiam wetlands home to 155 water birds

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Feb 5: There are over 155 water birds found in the wetland areas of Umiam Lake, Ri Bhoi District.

This was as per the Asian Waterbird Census, 2024 conducted by the Meghalaya Forest & Environment Department through the office of the Divisional Forest Officer, Khasi Hills Wildlife Division Shillong in Collaboration with The Meghalaya Biodiversity Board on February 2.

The exercise was simultaneously conducted at Umsaw, Umbir, Umniuh, Mawlyndep & Umiam covering the wetland areas of Umiam Lake, Ri-Bhoi District, Meghalaya with the support and guidance from professionals.

H Lato, IFS, DFO Social Forestry Division, M Kharsyntiew, MFS, Assistant Conservator of Forests, from NGOs like Aaranyak (Dr) Dipankar Lahkar and  Pranjal Deka, experts from Meghalaya Biodiversity Board (Dr) E. Khongwir and (Dr) S Dey also participated in the programme.

During the exercise about 155 numbers of water birds comprising of 13 species.

The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) is part of the global International Waterbird Census (IWC). This citizen-science programme supporting the conservation and management of wetlands and waterbirds worldwide is done yearly between January and February, wherein, volunteers across Asia and Australasia visit wetlands in their country and count waterbirds. It works in partnership with many existing national waterbird census programmes.

This day is also celebrated throughout the world as “World Wetland Day ” and the census was carried out to also commemorate this day to protect and preserve the pristine wetlands which act as a habitat for this avian life every year during their migration period. Through the exercise, it has been observed that the Umiam Wetland acts as an important habitat for this avian life.

Meghalaya CM underscores importance of the youth

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Feb 5: Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma felicitated the Sports Achievers of Meghalaya Games 2024 and Khelo India Youth Games 2024 at a function that was held at U Soso Tham Auditorium, Shillong. Also present during the occasion were Minister of Health & Family Welfare etc Ampareen Lyngdoh and Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs, Shakliar Warjri. 

During the felicitation function, Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, congratulating the achievers, said that the achievements and laurels brought to the state must be celebrated. “This week is an important week and throughout the week we will be celebrating our youth in Sports, Entrepreneurship, and Music and every activity we are having this week is connected to the youth,” he said. 

He further informed that the idea of felicitating and recognizing the achievements of the youth is to project them as Icons and Motivators for others. “I want to tell the youth who are here today that you have an important and responsible role and it is not just about winning a medal or getting an award but becoming exemplary and role models,” he said. 

The Chief Minister also expressed gratitude to the MSOA, the different sports associations and the Sports department for their contribution towards the success of the Meghalaya Games. “There were challenges but every year we are ensuring that the games become better and we overcome the challenges,” he added. 

Congratulating the Football Team that had won the cup in the Khelo India Youth Games the Chief Minister said that the team has made the State proud and added, “They have come out as champions and this only goes to show the kind of talent that we have and what we can achieve if we are focused and determined,” he concluded. 

Earlier, Minister, of Sports & Youth Affairs, Shakliar Warjri reminded the athletes to use the Cash Award wisely to further their skill and talent in the Sports they have excelled. 

“We as a government acknowledge the hard work that you have put in to win the medal but this is not the end, aim to achieve greater heights because you are the future of our state,” he said. 

Later the dignitaries distributed Cash Awards to medal winners in different disciplines.

Indian Army invites youth of Meghalaya to join as Agniveer

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Jan 27: The Indian Army has invited online applications from the youth of the all districts of Meghalaya for selection as Agniveers under the Agnipath scheme. The window for online registration will commence from the first week of Feb 2024 onwards. The recruitment will be carried out in two phases.

(a)  Phase –I.     Online Computer Based Written Examination (Online CEE) will be conducted at selected centres in the State.

(b)  Phase-II.     Recruitment Rally will be conducted for selected candidates (shortlisted) who make it to the merit list in online Common Entrance Examination.

The candidates can register online on Join Indian Army website www.joinindianarmy.nic.in where they can check their eligibility criteria and create a personal profile. The candidates on successful filling the application will be directed to SBI portal through a link on the website to make payment of Rs 250/- plus bank charges as applicable. The payment can be made through various payment options like Debit/Credit cards, online banking of UPI. Candidates will be required to have an active email & mobile number which will be used for further communication by Indian Army. Candidates will have to select five choices for the exam centre. Candidates will need to enter Aadhaar number in online application and are therefore are advised to link Aadhaar to their mobile number. To provide candidates practice on online CEE as per their category, a category wise link has been provided on “Join Indian Army” website. Candidates are advised to carry out practice at least once before appearing for actual CEE. Animated videos on “How to Register” & “How to Appear for online CEE” are also available on www.joinindianarmy.nic.in. The helpline numbers of Army Recruitment Office Shillong are 0364-2504177, email: rohqshillong@gmail.com. Candidates can also raise any kind of query on www.joinindianarmy.nic.in for necessary clarifications.

HQ 101 Area Shillong celebrates Diamond Jubilee

Indian Army’s Headquarters 101 Area, Shillong celebrated its Diamond Jubilee today.

The day commenced with a solemn ceremony paying tributes to the Brave Hearts at the Shillong War Memorial, Rhino Prerna Sthal, by Lieutenant General RP Kalita, General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C) Eastern Command, Indian Army.

Major General RK Jha, Officiating General Officer Commanding (GOC) 101 Area and all soldiers of Headquarters 101 Area also paid tributes to those who had given their all for the Nation.

101 Communication Zone, as it was then called, was raised in the wake of the Chinese aggression, on 22 Apr 1963 for provision of logistic support to all formations and units in the Northeast Region. HQ 101 Area has a historically unique distinction of having taken part in active combat operations despite being a logistic formation. It undertook Counter-Insurgency operations in Mizoram from 1966-69.

During 1971 war, HQ 101 Area took part in operations in Sylhet and Mymensingh districts of erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and was the first formation to reach Dacca on the morning of 16 December 1971 leading to surrender by Pakistan that afternoon, earning it the name First in Dacca.

Over time, 101 Area has evolved to provide logistic support in remote and challenging terrain in border areas across entire North Eastern region. It has contributed immensely in Nation building aiding infrastructure development, providing humanitarian aid and ensuring outreach to remote villages.

While conveying his compliments on the occasion, the GOC-in-C Eastern Command addressed all soldiers of 101 Area and complimented them for carrying forward the legacy of dedicated service to the Nation. To commemorate the formations 60 glorious years of service to the Nation, release of a special cover and stamp were also a part of the festivities. The unveiling of busts of Major General Gurbaksh Singh Gill and Major General  Gandharv Nagra, who were GOCs of 101 Area during 1971 war and helped curate the resounding Indian Army victory in 1971 war, was also another highlight of the festivities.

Lt Gen RP Kalita also flagged in the Rhino Riders Motorcycle Rally organised by Headquarters 101 Area. The rally was flagged off on April 9 by the Governor of Meghalaya, Phagu Chauhan, from Rhino Training Complex Shillong. The motorcycle rally team travelled though Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh celebrating the spirit of patriotism in the year of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. They also interacted with the youth, veterans and Veer Naris.

Dead body recovered

The Ri Bhoi District Police of Khanapara recovered a dead body inside a tourist cab at 9 Mile, Baridua Ri Bhoi District today morning at around 9 am.

According to the information, the dead body was found inside the cab with the registered number AS 01 FC 6912. The body was first detected by a passerby following which the person informed the local village representative who later informed the police.

The deceased has been identified as Mitun Sen of Beltola, Assam who is the driver of the cab.

However, the cause of death is still ascertained and police are investigating the matter. Meanwhile, the dead body was taken to Nongpoh Civil Hospital for Post Mortem.

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